Hypergraphs and sharpened sieve inequalities (Q1336651)

It is shown that the alternating inequalities (known as Bonferroni inequalities) associated with Jordan's formulae for the probability that exactly \(m\) (and at least \(m\), respectively) of \(n\) given events occur may be sharpened by the addition of a sum whose entries are determined by the edges of a hypergraph \(H\) satisfying the following conditions (in the case when exactly \(m\) of \(n\) given events occur): \(H\) is a \(k\)-uniform hypergraph \((0\leq m< k)\) with the property that for each \(I\subseteq V(H)\), the induced partial hypergraph \(H_ I\) has at most \[ \left({| I|\atop m}\right) \left({| I|- m-1\atop k- m-1}\right) \] edges. Moreover, if \(H\) is otherwise then there exists a measure space where sharpened Bonferroni inequalities proposed in the paper do not hold. (The results are given in the broader context of measures over finitely generated Boolean algebras.) Another type of hypergraph for the same purpose was proposed by the reviewer (so-called hypertrees, defined recursively); see [J. Comb. Theory, Ser. B 41, 209-217 (1986; Zbl 0577.05052)].